George McGovern

George McGovern sits in the cockpit of a training plane. Born in South Dakota, McGovern enlisted after hearing about the Pearl Harbor attacks. He flew a B-24 in combat missions during World War II and was honored with a Distinguished Flying Cross medal.

George McGovern, then a congressman, joined then-Sen. John F. Kennedy on the campaign trail in Sioux Falls, S.D. in June 1960. Both went on to victory: Kennedy as president and McGovern as senator. McGovern was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1956 and then to the Senate, where he served from 1963 through 1980.

Mrs. Coretta Scott King, widow of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., is flanked by Sens. Charles E. Goodell, left, and George S. McGovern, right, while marching in Washington, D.C., Nov. 15, 1969. A longtime advocate for ending the Vietnam War, McGovern joined thousands as part of the moratorium marchers on the National Mall.

Sen. George McGovern of South Dakota gives a press conference after announcing his candidacy for the presidency in Los Angeles on Jan. 21, 1971.

Sen. George McGovern, center, arrived in Little Rock, Ark., seeking support for his Democratic presidential nomination in early 1972. He was met at the Little Rock Airport by Joe Purcell, right, chairman of the state Democratic Party, and by Bill Clinton, a McGovern campaign worker who later became president.

Sens. Hubert H. Humphrey, left, and George McGovern shake hands as they meet in Los Angeles, May 28, 1972, for the first of their nationally televised debates.

The Democratic Party presidential nominee Sen. George McGovern (right) and his running mate, Sen. Thomas Eagleton during the campaign, July, 26, 1972.

After a three-hour long closed meeting in Washington, Sen. Thomas Eagleton, left, and Sen. George McGovern, right, head in different directions, after McGovern announced that Eagleton was stepping down as his vice presidential running mate, Aug. 1, 1972. Eagleton made American political history when he withdrew from the Democratic Party ticket after revelations about electric shock treatment he had received for bouts of depression.

Sen. George McGovern and Sargent Shriver in Washington, Aug. 8, 1972, after the Democratic National Committee endorsed Sargent Shriver as the new vice presidential nominee.

Terry McGovern, daughter of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. George McGovern, opening campaign contribution envelopes at McGovern Headquarters in Washington, D.C., Oct. 16, 1972. Helping her are Steve Cohen, a staff member and Mrs. Carol Donley. McGovern and his wife Eleanor had four children including Terry who suffered from addiction and died in 1994.

Sen. George McGovern holds up the hand of his wife Eleanor and announced to the crowd gathered in downtown Syracuse that today is their 29th wedding anniversary, and “that it has been a treat for the past 29 years” in a reference to the Halloween date, Oct. 31, 1972. McGovern began the final week of his battle for the presidency. McGovern, known as a great debater, met his wife during a debate in high school. Together they had four children. Eleanor died after a battle with cancer in 2007.

Sens. George McGovern, left, and Bob Dole, center, appear before a Senate Agriculture Subcommittee in Washington, Oct. 8, 1975. They presented a food stamp reform plan which was illustrated by the chart in background. Having grown up during the dust bowl and the Great Depression, McGovern's spent most of his life working to end hunger, improve nutrition and support agriculture.

Former Sens. Bob Dole, left, and George McGovern receive a standing ovation May 30, 2000, at the National Nutrition Summit in Washington, D.C. McGovern was appointed as the Food for Peace director by John F. Kennedy in 1961 and was honored with Dole with the World Food Prize in 2008.

Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients George McGovern, left, and Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan congratulate each other during the ceremony in the East Room of the White House Aug. 9, 2000, in Washington, D.C.

Rep. John Murtha, left, listens as former Sen. George McGovern testifies before the Congressional Progressive Caucus forum on, "The McGovern-Polk plan for U.S. military disengagement from Iraq," Jan. 12, 2007 in Washington, D.C. The forum was held as part of an ongoing effort to examine policy options for achieving U.S. military disengagement from Iraq and bringing U.S. troops home.